Page 27 of The Sound of Secrets

The other man laughed and tossed his head back. I noticed his neck was covered in rough jailhouse tattoos. “I guess billionaires aren’t afraid to break the law because they know they can get away with it.”

I leaned forward and tapped my index finger on the table. Fury on Channing’s behalf simmered underneath my skin. “You got away with plenty without being a billionaire.”

The prisoner snorted and leaned back as far as his handcuffs would let him. “There were never any charges filed. I kept my wife in check the way I saw fit. If you did the same, maybe you wouldn’t be chasing down her ex like a simp.”

Rocco moved behind me. I could feel the tension pouring off his big body. I held up a hand to keep him at bay. I smoothed a hand down my tie and got to my feet. I wouldn’t tolerate being jerked around by world leaders. There wasn’t a chance in hell I was going to let a degenerate like this lead me around by the nose.

“Best of luck with your appeal. You’re going to need it.”

I was at the door of the meeting space, thanking the guard, when Parker spoke. “The baby didn’t make it.”

I stopped. I refused to turn around. My shoulders stiffened and my spine turned to ice. Rocco glared over my shoulder, and I could hear his teeth grinding.

“Channing was in bad shape physically. She was drugged. The baby was premature. They tried to save it while she was unconscious, but nothing worked. Her old man covered for me because I paid him. I didn’t want to go to jail. Ironic considering.” He laughed again. “Hetold everyone she was mentally ill like her mother and if she knew the baby died, she would go off the deep end and need to be institutionalized.” The criminal snorted as I finally turned around to stare at him. “Pauly Harvey is the best con man in the game. He fleeced your mother for a pretty penny. He never intended to hand over the baby or tell her where Willow was hiding. She sent him a deposit and paperwork for the fake adoption, but he disappeared as soon as he had it in hand. Didn’t even split the money with me. It was all a lie he used to keep Channing under his thumb. He knew he could dangle the idea that he was the only one who knew where her kid was in front of her like a carrot, and she would cave to whatever demand he made. He’s one ruthless motherfucker.”

“Do you have proof?” The words barely escaped my clenched teeth. It was hard to say who was more cruel: my mother or Channing’s father.

The other man snorted and continued to look arrogant. “Right. Like I kept the body of a dead baby hidden somewhere all these years or something.”

“Hmmm…. Well, there’s a sixteen-year-old boy out there who is the spitting image of you. I mean, goddamn identical. So, unless you have proof, your story is bullshit.” I was going forward with a DNA test, regardless. Channing needed a definitive answer.

“Man — There were a hundred Channings when I was younger. She was far from the only lonely, needy bitch I knocked up. I probably have twenty kids out there who look just like me. After I watched the scam Paul pulled, I spent a lot of my twenties getting girls pregnant and then adopting the babies out privately. It was aneasy way to make a lot of money. The kid you’re talking about should thank me for giving him this face. It’s all he needs to make it in this world.”

“It was easy for you. Did any of those young women want to keep the baby?” There was no response, just a shitty smirk that I wanted to punch into his skull. “I think it’s highly doubtful you managed to impregnate another woman at the exact same time as Channing. The timing is too coincidental.” As much as I wanted to believe his assertions, it felt impossible. I was never one for wishful thinking.

“I knocked up a chickbeforeChanning got pregnant the last time. I met her while I was on the road with my band. She was even younger. Had no clue what she was doing. She was even easier to manipulate than Channing. They would’ve had their babies two or three months apart, but like I told you, Channing’s baby was premature. Initially, I thought the timing was fucked, but things worked out in my favor. By the time the second baby came, I already had someone lined up to adopt it. My drug dealer needed someone to launder his money. I found an accountant looking for a kid, no questions asked. I didn’t get a dime from Channing’s dad, but I did learn how to turn a mistake into a lucrative proposition. I’m surprised it’s taken this long for him to put Channing’s biggest wish into play. Do you have any idea how long he could drain her bank account by promising her that he knows where that kid is? And now that your big fat bank account is involved, he’s going to go all out and milk the nonexistent baby for all he’s worth.”

“What’s the accountant’s name?” The big picture was slowly starting to come into focus. I waited impatiently for Parker to answer my question.

“Man, I don’t remember. He said his wife tried to off herself, and if he didn’t get his hands on a newborn, she wasn’t going to make it. I didn’t want to broker the adoption, but I owed my dealer a lot of money. I had to let the accountant take the kid to clear my debt. I heard he got greedy later on and started skimming off the top of the money he was supposed to be cleaning. I’d be surprised if he’s still breathing.”

He was still breathing because he abandoned his family and took off with the money once he was found out. I had no doubt Parker was describing Jordan Kent, and the baby was Ky.

“If Channing’s baby was stillborn, there has to be a death certificate somewhere.” Rocco’s words calmed the simmering fire smoldering in the bottom of my heart. I needed a dose of reality to counter the insanity of this convict’s story. “Even your mother couldn’t make something like that fully disappear. Especially if Channing’s pop double-crossed her. Give me some time to see if I can find it.”

I dipped my chin in agreement and moved to leave. I wanted to pat myself on the back for having the restraint not to jump across the table and beat the life out of Channing’s ex. I’d never been a violent man, but hearing Channing’s ex degrade her and make light of the violence and cruelty he subjected her to brought out a primal instinct to protect her. I would have to settle for fighting him my own way. “If I can locate definitive proofthat the baby didn’t make it, I’ll get you a lawyer. If not, you’re on your own.”

“Hey! That’s not the agreement. You said as long as I told you what happened that night, you’d help me out. I’m not lying. The kid didn’t make it, but Channing’s father insisted we convince her that it did.”

I shrugged, repeating his gesture when he was fucking around with me. “You said you understood what sort of man I am. This condition should come as no surprise.”

“I don’t know what you see in Channing. She’s nothing special. She’s definitely not worth lowering yourself to make a deal with a man like me.”

I stopped outside the bars and gave him a frosty glare. “Do you think I made it to where I am today without being able to recognize a solid investment? I know Channing’s value better than anyone.” I nudged Rocco, who was glaring at the prisoner with daggers in his eyes. I wondered if his vast network of badasses included anyone incarcerated. If so, Channing’s ex-husband’s time behind bars was about to get a lot more uncomfortable.

When we reached the SUV, I wished I were a smoker. I needed something to get the taste of this visit out of my mouth. I was tempted to ask Rocco for one of his cigarettes but battled back the urge.

“She’s so tough.” The bald man blew a cloud of smoke above his head and frowned. “I always liked Channing and Willow. They’re good girls. I can’t believe everything Channing’s been through. She’s so normal. So nice. I had no idea she was hiding so much suffering.”

“She takes care of everyone else. She’s never had someone to take care of her.” That’s changed now.Regardless of what happened between the two of us going forward, I wanted her to come out from behind the mask and live her life knowing she wasn’t alone. “I’ve always said she was a hidden gem.” And the most precious jewels were formed under immense friction and pressure. I considered myself fortunate no one else had recognized her stunning rarity and clarity before me. I was happy to be the one who let her shine.

While Rocco finished his smoke, I glanced at my phone and noticed I had missed calls from Alistair as well as Channing’s friend Salome. There was also a flood of messages from my personal attorney and the head of the company’s public relations department. I felt a ball of dread settle in my stomach like lead.

I called my half-brother while scrolling through no less than two-hundred messages.

“Have you talked to Channing?” Alistair’s voice was sharp and worried. “I’ve been trying to call her since this afternoon and she won’t pick up. She missed a meeting with a client. I didn’t understand why until my assistant informed me all hell is breaking loose online. Some gossip site posted your wedding license and pictures from the courthouse the day you got married. If it was isolated to a trashy website, I would’ve axed the story, but it’s all over social media. Countless accounts are dragging Channing’s entire life through the mud. Strangers are accusing her of dumping her mother in a loony bin. They’re saying she’s a danger to Winnie and herself. Rumors are swirling. She blackmailed you into marriage. Someone even suggested she murdered your mother because she opposed the wedding. I don’t know whereall this is coming from. It’s like fact mixed with fiction. This is the sort of smear campaign you see in politics, not against an ordinary citizen. None of it paints Channing in a very positive light.”

The board of directors at Halliday Inc. were in a lather. The press was trying to break down the doors of my office in the city. Rocco’s phone was also blowing up and his expression wasn’t any better than mine. From the snippets of his conversation, I gathered he was trying to put Winnie’s school on lockdown.

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